What we learned from Radio-Canada's 'Cinq chefs' party leader interviews

French-speaking Canadians got a archetypal sensation of however the 5 main national enactment leaders support their platforms beyond U.S. tariff threats successful the span of 2 hours Thursday nighttime connected Radio-Canada's Cinq chefs, une élection program.

The amusement featured 5 unrecorded interviews with the 5 leaders. It kicked disconnected with the Liberals' Mark Carney, followed by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, past the Bloc Québécois's Yves-François Blanchet, NDP's Jagmeet Singh and lastly Green Party Co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.

The leaders talked Canadian (and Quebec) sovereignty and however they would support Canadian interests successful the look of U.S. President Donald Trump — but besides however they would hole the existent lodging crisis, marque beingness much affordable, enactment workers and support jobs. And they talked astir Canada and Quebec's spot successful a rapidly changing world. 

Blanchet told hosts Céline Galipeau, Anne-Marie Dussault and Sébastien Bovet that it felt similar the archetypal time of the run to him due to the fact that truthful overmuch of the election's archetypal 2 weeks person been focused connected Trump's tariff threats, which were yet unveiled Wednesday. 

Carney gives his French 'six retired of 10'

The evening was besides an accidental to enactment Carney's French connection skills to the trial — which Blanchet had called into question erstwhile the Liberal person turned down an invitation to a 2nd French statement hosted by backstage Quebec tv web TVA aboriginal successful the campaign. 

WATCH | Liberal person says his French is 'far from perfect' 

On that note, 1 of the past questions Carney was asked was however helium would complaint his French during the interrogation and, if elected, what level he'd purpose to attain astatine the extremity of a archetypal mandate. 

Carney gave himself six retired of 10 connected his spoken French and said he'd privation to beryllium astatine an 8 oregon 9 successful 4 years. 

"I'm from Alberta. I'm 60 years old. I tin inactive learn," Carney said, adding his comprehension is bully and that helium loves the language. 

"I americium acold from cleanable but I adore the connection … I instrumentality portion successful meetings, I tin negociate successful French. All of that," helium said. 

Some of the tougher questions Carney had to reply progressive Quebec, including wherefore helium wouldn't perpetrate to creating authorities to support proviso absorption of poultry, dairy and eggs — large sectors successful the state — and what Quebec represents to him. 

Carney said that since he'd launched his Liberal enactment bid successful January, that he'd been unequivocal astir his presumption that proviso absorption should beryllium disconnected the array successful renegotiations of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). 

Pressed connected wherefore helium wouldn't suggest a measure to support proviso management, helium said "it's not indispensable … the dialog volition commencement successful a fewer weeks."

The Liberal person was fixed immoderate rapid-fire questions astir his positions connected assorted topics, immoderate of which helium hadn't yet spoken astir successful the campaign. Would Canada beryllium consenting to nonstop troops to Ukraine? "It depends," helium said, noting he's acceptable to articulation the France and United Kingdom-led "coalition of the willing." 

Carney was besides asked what helium would archer Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successful the look of Israel's continued bombardment and renewed crushed cognition successful Gaza.

He answered that "territorial integrity" is cardinal successful the situations of Gaza, Ukraine and Canada (with regards to Trump's 51st authorities threats). 

"Second, we indispensable marque each effort to found a ceasefire successful Gaza and to resume humanitarian aid," helium said.

When asked astir a imaginable recession, Carney was reluctant to accidental it was a certainty for Canada. But helium acknowledged the broad tariffs imposed by Trump connected dozens of countries Wednesday "are apt to origin a planetary recession, that's for sure. And that could origin a recession successful the United States, successful which case, present successful Canada, it's precise difficult."

Poilievre: Liberals weakened Canadian economy

Up next, Poilievre — joining virtually from Oshawa, Ont. — repeated his assertion that the Liberal Party had weakened the Canadian economy, making it much hard for the state to basal up to Trump and linked Carney to erstwhile premier curate Justin Trudeau's government, saying helium has the "same policies, aforesaid ministers, aforesaid MPs."

The Conservative person said Trump wanted to support the Liberals successful powerfulness for those reasons. He acknowledged his presumption arsenic Opposition person has enactment him astatine a disadvantage connected overseas affairs, but brushed it disconnected and said that's ever the lawsuit for the Opposition. 

He past listed a fig of things helium was consenting to bring to the negotiating array with Trump, including expanding the Canadian subject and improving borderline security, saying helium could "take [them] distant the infinitesimal Trump reneges connected his promises."

Poilievre was asked astir his presumption connected Bill 21, Quebec's secularism law, which prohibits a fig of nationalist servants, including teachers and constabulary officers, from wearing spiritual symbols. 

The Conservative said that though helium supports Quebec's worth of authorities secularism, helium opposes the instrumentality itself. 

"I'll springiness you an example. There is an RCMP serviceman who protects my household who wears a turban. He's acceptable to prevention my life. He's acceptable to prevention my children's lives by giving his. Am I going to accidental helium shouldn't person a occupation due to the fact that we wears a turban? I don't hold with that," Poilievre said.

Singh aboriginal said helium powerfully agreed with Poilievre's answer. 

On the enlargement of the military, Poilievre said helium would partially money that by cutting down connected overseas aid, though helium didn't accidental by however much. He past repeated a connection helium made aboriginal past twelvemonth that the main enactment providing assistance successful Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), is simply a "terrorist" organization. 

Galipeau pushed back, saying immoderate members of Hamas that had been recovered successful the UN radical had been ousted. But Poilievre doubled down, saying, "This has been known for decades."

Blanchet says Liberals favour Ontario implicit Quebec 

Blanchet, whose Bloc Québécois, on with the NDP, has steadily mislaid enactment successful nationalist sentiment polls this twelvemonth successful favour of the Liberals, softened his presumption connected Carney's French Thursday, saying helium would fto Quebecers determine what they deliberation of it. 

But helium reiterated an earlier connection that helium knows Poilievre amended than Carney, whom helium accused of hiding his assets.

"We don't cognize the feline oregon his plan," Blanchet said. 

He besides accused the Liberals of prioritizing Ontario implicit different provinces, namely Quebec. 

"In a Liberal caucus, the captious wide is successful Ontario," helium said. 

Singh says argumentation wins weren't for gratitude

Singh, too, has seen large declines successful enactment for his enactment successful nationalist sentiment polls since the caller Liberal person entered the ring. 

Dussault asked him if Canadians lacked gratitude for the programs the NDP pushed the Liberals to create, including dental attraction and pharmacare. 

"I don't bash it for Canadians' gratitude," Singh said. "My parent taught maine we're each 1 and it's for that crushed that I went into politics." 

He said galore of the societal programs Canadians usage to differentiate themselves from Americans were created by the NDP. 

Asked whether those programs had contributed to Canada's $62-billion deficit, Singh said his enactment had recommended places for the Liberals to chopped connected expenses, including successful lipid and state subsidies and stopping the usage of backstage consulting firms, but that they hadn't followed done connected them.

On Quebec's Bill 21, Singh said he, similar Poilievre, is opposed and would enactment law challenges successful tribunal — but not connected the province's precocious revamped French-language legislation, Bill 96.

"I enactment the value of defending the French language," helium said. 

Pedneault pitches nationalist homebuilding program

Last but not least, Pedneault had 1 of his party's fewer opportunities successful the limelight truthful far. 

In what was apt an instauration to galore French-speaking Canadians, Pedneault pitched his party's thought to make nationalist "stocks" of Canadian resources, including lumber, aluminum and steel, that could past beryllium utilized to physique pre-fabricated housing. 

He besides said the Green Party would enactment an extremity to lipid and state subsidies and reorient jobs successful the fossil substance manufacture toward industries indispensable for a greenish transition. 

The Greens are besides successful favour of a headdress connected lipid production.